Mapping the global flow of tungsten to identify key material efficiency and supply security opportunities

•This paper has mapped the global mass flows of tungsten, from mining to end-use sectors, for the year 2010 and identified key areas where intervention would be beneficial to broaden the supply base and increase the material efficiency of the system to enhance its security of supply.•The key messages identified from tungsten’s global mass flow analysis in 2010 are: (i) China accounted for about 87% of all mine production; (ii) tungsten’s beneficiation process can lead to considerable losses (10–40% of the tungsten content of the ore may be lost) that can even exceed the total amount of tungsten supply from end-of-life scrap (roughly 25% of total tungsten supply in 2010); (iii) processing losses during the fabrication of intermediate products are comparatively lower (